Beginner Lesson 1.1 – Self-Introduction

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Self-Introduction In Chinese For Beginners

  • Greeting: say "Hi" in Chinese
  • Self-introduction in Chinese with your first name
  • Self-introduction in Chinese with your last name
  • Self-introduction in Chinese with your full name

VOCABULARY


HSK CHINESE PINYIN P.O.S ENGLISH Audio
1 pr. I; me
1 jiào v. to call; to be called
2 xìng v./n. last name to be / last name
1 hǎo adj. good; well; okay

EXPRESSIONS


HSK CHINESE PINYIN ENGLISH Audio
1 你好 nǐhǎo hello; hi

GRAMMAR


Grammar 1: Hello in Chinese · HSK 1

When we want to say hi or hello in Chinese, we say 你好. Literally, it means, "you; good". Many people wonder why we use 你好 to mean hello in Chinese. This is because it's like we're saying "I bet you're doing good today".

 

Grammar 2: Names in Chinese · HSK 1

In Chinese, people's last name goes before their first name. The last name is usually one character, while the first name is usually one or two characters.

 

Grammar 3: Self-introduction in Chinese with 叫 · HSK 1

wǒ jiào... 我叫……I am called...  / My name is... 

You can use this structure to introduce your (1)full name; (2) first name or nick name. For example,

  • wǒ jiào Dàwèi 
    我叫大卫。
    my name is David
  • wǒ jiào Chéng Lóng 
    我叫成龙。
    my name is Cheng Long
  • wǒ jiào Lǐ Xiǎolóng 
    我叫李小龙。
    my name is Li Xiaolong

 

Be very careful that 叫 usually is not followed by a first name that is one-character. For example the sentence below can be considered incorrect.

wǒ jiào lóng
我叫龙。
my name is Long

 

 

Grammar 4.  Self-introduction in Chinese with 姓 · HSK 1

wǒ xìng...  我姓……My last name is... 

You can use this structure to introduce your last name. For example:

  • wǒ xìng Lǐ 
    我姓李。
    my last name is Li
  • wǒ xìng Wáng
    我姓王。
    my last name is Wang
100 Comments
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你好 !
我 叫 莎若 ^^

Vinicius De Oliveira SantosPremium Student March 6, 2024 at 10:59 am

你好我姓李
我叫李谦

MichaelrielStudent October 1, 2023 at 9:00 pm

你好,莉莉和查克。我的美国名字是迈克尔·安东尼·瑞尔。我是一名医生和退役陆军上校。我是猴年。我的中文名字应该是什么。

sallyshecn@163.comStudent November 18, 2023 at 12:57 am

你应该按中国人的习惯取一个中文名,就象我们中国人都有一个英文名字一样。

ni hao
wo xing hao
wo jiao hao jie

你好,我叫 Menna .
謝謝 老師

JusticeOkamsStudent July 9, 2023 at 2:14 pm

你好,我姓Okams
我叫Justice

你好。
我行 Vu
我叫 Bao Uyen

Oanh VuPremium Student June 27, 2023 at 4:34 am

你好,
我姓Vu,我叫Thi Oanh

Disneydad21Student June 3, 2023 at 7:42 pm

My first lesson was very interesting learned 1 new character 姓 which I am happy about.

nahilPremium Student May 14, 2023 at 10:55 am

I want to learn the Chinese language, but I do not speak English. I can speak the Arabic language because I am from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In my country, it has become important to learn the Chinese language, so I use Google Translator and YouTube to know the course. I wish to translate all the courses because there are not many courses in Arabic. Thank you

Wo jiao Beness

Stagy63Premium Student February 22, 2023 at 1:11 pm

Hi Lily and Chuck,
I am a native Swede, but grew up in Switzerland and the US as well. So Swedish, German, Swiss German, and English.
I stated with Pinyin, Tones and just finished the hands on Characters writing , and today was the big day. Beginner day 1 wow. I am taking every course step by step.
I am enjoying and learning while driving my big rig truck cross country , as long as the cell towers work, no one covers 99% lol
It would be useful to be able to download off line for when there is no signal for premium students of course.
The coolest thing I have discovered is that Chinese words are in all languages in one word or another, regardless if there is no past or future only the present. I say daily “This is now “, to remind myself of the importance of the moment which is the only real thing we have.
Thank you so very much, Staffan:)

Dear Staffan,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us. We’re thrilled to hear that you’re enjoying and learning from our course, even while driving your big rig truck cross country. It’s amazing to hear that you’re taking each course step by step and mastering Pinyin, Tones, and Characters writing.
We appreciate your suggestion regarding the ability to download offline content for premium students, and we will consider it as we continue to improve our course offerings.
Finally, we completely agree with you about the importance of living in the moment and appreciating the present. Your daily reminder to yourself is a wonderful practice that we can all learn from.
Thank you again for your kind words and for being a part of our language learning community!
Best regards,
Chuck & Lili

Hello ! May I ask if what is my chinese name? my name is Leizel Legaspi. thank you for the response.

Melissa BankardPremium Student October 8, 2022 at 9:33 pm

This is great

Nin hao ma ! Laoshi ?.. Wo hao. Wo xing Kelvin.. wo Jiao Anesu.. Ni Jiao shemne mingzi ma laoshi..

你好。我叫维卡

ToriakatPremium Student May 23, 2022 at 12:22 pm

Hello! My sister and I are choosing are Chinese names. How do these sound to a native Chinese Speaker: 吴林 and 吴盛蔚?

Yes they are both very good names!

Hi, all.
I would just like to be assisted by someone defining my Chinese name ‘李翰睿’. This name was given to me by my co-workers a few years back and I do not know the exact meaning and whether it’s suitable to use as a name for future introductory conversation with other Chinese speakers. Much appreciated.

ChineseFor.UsAcademic Team May 5, 2022 at 11:25 am

It is a very good Chinese name. Both 翰 and 睿 are appropriate to be used in Chinese given names, and they both have very good meanings. 翰 means “writing brush” and is often associated with “having ability in literature”; and 睿 means “wise”. Your co-worker picked a very good name for you.

EhsanPremium Student April 25, 2022 at 11:27 pm

Since our name and last name are not in Chinese, do we still need to say our last name and then the first name? How to write our names since we don’t know the characters?

Chineseman773Premium Student February 27, 2022 at 5:38 pm

For jiao, if I didn’t have a Chinese name, would it be 我叫 Dylyn Dylyn

你好.我叫黹黹?is it good?
Hi I’m titi

嗨,塞缪尔

Hi im Samuel 

edlawit tekesteGuest December 6, 2021 at 5:28 pm

nihao yi er san si wuliu qa ba

ni hao, wo jiao mali , wo xing fahmi

marajPremium Student October 17, 2021 at 4:02 am

Hello!! Thanks for these awesome courses, I just finished the ones related to pronunciation. Now I began this beginner course. My name is Mara González. How can I write my name and surname in Chinese?

TianyaPremium Student September 22, 2021 at 10:36 am

你好。我姓白。我叫白恬雅。

hi am really enjoying the lessons

Giovanni CastilloPremium Student July 19, 2021 at 2:41 pm

你好我叫 Ian Castillo

VincentEho22Student June 23, 2021 at 11:50 pm

你 好! 我 叫 何 三 宝

BardashiaJamesGuest June 14, 2021 at 11:41 pm

hello how do you spell BardashiaJames chinese

我 叫 hussein

Steven BaelePremium Student March 26, 2021 at 7:33 am

Hi I just wanted to know if using 是 is also allowed. Like in

我是 /name/

Thank you
謝謝再见

ni hao i have a question if your name is american do you just say it in your own language or do you say it in Chinese

Felicity HerreraStudent February 3, 2021 at 8:36 pm

this was fun and really easy to understand Xièxiè

500006567@cfschools.netStudent January 26, 2021 at 7:56 pm

你好,我的名字是CARRION,我的名字是MILEYSHKA

Thank You miss LI

Are there any ways to introduce my first name if it consists only one character?

你好。我姓Williams, 我叫Jocelyn.

lilil is there a way can i email me saying it to you because i am not comfortable with people hearing my voice and i want to know if i am saying it right is that ok

faizdanial__Student October 31, 2020 at 11:58 pm

thank you miss li 🙂

Hi, what is my Chinese name? First one, Estephany Last name, Cano. Thank you!

Roger McGinnisPremium Student September 30, 2020 at 4:35 pm

nihao. wo xing mcginnis, wo jiao roger

Fesobi Olumide PhillipGuest August 31, 2020 at 12:45 am

Hello Laoshi,
Thank you for the lectures. I have 3 names; last name, first name and middle name. how do i introduce my middle name?
Thanks in anticipation

ni hao,wo jiao son

Mohammed HassanPremium Student July 21, 2020 at 5:54 pm

Hello,
I just want to know how can I differentiate between a one character word and a two character word?

Mohammed HassanPremium Student July 27, 2020 at 3:55 pm

I mean for names, how do I know if a particular name is a one character name or a two-character name
for example the following names are a one character names or two-character names?
王明 
李好 

ChineseFor.UsAcademic Team July 29, 2020 at 4:51 pm

The name has two characters in it so it’s a two-character name.

Mohammed HassanPremium Student November 6, 2020 at 5:00 am

In this lesson “Beginner Lesson 5.1 – Ask and Say Age”. In the sentence “wo er shi yi sui” in the video, why the tone of yi is not following the yi tone rule which is second tone if it followed by a fourth tone and sui has a fourth tone?

Mohammed HassanPremium Student November 9, 2020 at 5:27 am

There are three ways to pronounce Chinese character Yi 一.
(1) When 一 is by itself, meaning “the mathematical number one”, it is pronounced in the First Tone ““.
(2) When Character Yi 一 goes before the First, the Second and the Third Tone, it is pronounced in the Fourth Tone ““; (3) When Character Yi 一 goes before the Fourth Tone, it is pronounced in the Second Tone “yí“.
Now in the sentencewo er shi yi sui”, the character Yi 一 goes before the Fourth Tone which is “sui“. Why character Yi in this sentence does not follow rule number (3) above which is “When Character Yi 一 goes before the Fourth Tone, it is pronounced in the Second Tone ““.?
Thanks

MX5NC2Premium Student January 16, 2023 at 5:28 pm

The answer to your question is in the first rule “Mathematical number one”. In that sentence you quoted “yi” is being used as a mathematical number…so it doesn’t change tone to second tone. Hope that makes sense..

Nwlohere XDPremium Student July 6, 2020 at 10:29 am

thank you for the lesson

Deepak KushwahaStudent May 31, 2020 at 3:26 am

Xie Xie Lili! Dhanyawaad for your help.

OmarMustafaPremium Student May 21, 2020 at 6:37 am

你好
this lesson is very straightforward and easy to understand thank you.
Can I say Wo Jiao Omar?
Thanks

Maqsood0087Student April 23, 2020 at 1:22 am

Hello ma’am.
Its me Maqsood Ali from Pakistan I have just started a course here to learn Chinese language hope I will got it soon.
Ni Hao

Valentina Paula Martinoli IsslerGuest April 8, 2020 at 12:17 pm

My name is Valentina, I was wondering if Valen or Tina are better as a Chinese name? Valen:
瓦伦 or Tina: 蒂娜

Valentina Paula Martinoli IsslerGuest April 8, 2020 at 12:15 pm

Hi! My name is Valentina (very long), I was wondering how I’d write it? Maybe Valen or Tina, which is better: 蒂娜 (Tina) or 瓦伦 (Valen)

Fesobi Olumide PhillipGuest August 31, 2020 at 12:49 am

I think Tina sounds much better

Irina SvetlanaStudent March 31, 2020 at 1:44 pm

你好老师! 我很高兴认识你。
I want to learn perfect pronunciation from this site. How and what can I get to it? 🙂

Ni hao
Wo xing Gift.

Really like it so far reminds me a lot of being in school. How ever im having a small problem with introducing my name. I am from Iceland and here it goes “First name” “last name i gues you would call it” and then you’r fathers name and added son or daughter to the end. My name is Gunnar Smári Rögnvaldsson. Rögnvaldsson meaning son of Rögnvaldur, so when introducing myself what would be the best way to do so?.

Ni Hav
wao Jiao Sdam Baig
Thanks for your online chinese learning classs and i was amazed to see your mode of teaching that is awesome.This is my first yearin china and without having profound chinese language command its hard to survive in china

tessyPremium Student November 7, 2019 at 6:16 pm

Nihao,
Wo xing Akintan
Wo jiao Alaba
Thank you Lili for making the leaning easy. Looking forward to speak like native Chinese

Nicole_Chinese_uwuStudent September 22, 2019 at 4:50 am

Hey! I am a high school student interested in learning Chinese “seriously” and hopefully one day going to China to study abroad. I would like to know how I should start my Chinese Learning Journey and the most efficient way to do so. I would also love some tips on learning the language at an efficient pace as I would love to be able to start communicating in Chinese as fluently as possible and as soon as possible! Thanks, Nicole

clamphier8Premium Student June 4, 2019 at 10:07 pm

Ni hao.
Wo xing Lamphier.
Wo jiao Connor.

Raghadsubhi12Premium Student May 20, 2019 at 11:20 am

I tried many websites and was convinced that I will never speak Chinese (i even quit trying to learn it for 8 months) then I found your site. I’m sure getting the premium.

SikaPremium Student January 29, 2019 at 2:15 am

你好. 我性 SIKA, 我叫 SIKA BRICE.

你好吗
我很好谢谢
我叫 Daniel, 我是国人

I’m really exciting about to learn Mandarin. I just found this website and I’m trying it.
It seems to be very well designed and I’m looking for a tool like that to improve my learning.

Thanks.
谢谢 再见

AdamMPremium Student December 1, 2018 at 5:38 pm

I notice that some native Mandarin speakers—including Lili—pronounce the pinyin “ìng” vowel sound almost like “eeyung” (but quickly as one syllable), while others pronounce it more similarly to how an English speaker would pronounce an “ing” sound in English. Is this a regional difference? Which is the mostly widely used and versatile pronunciation?
 
Thank you.

You are right about the pronunciation differences. Generally in Norther China, “in” and “ing” are pronounced differently but in a lot of southern provinces, “ing” are pronounced in the same way as “in”.
 
If you haven’t checked our Pinyin Pronunciation Course, we recommend going through it along with this main course to help with the pronunciation and listening.
 
Finals “in” and “ing” are in Lesson 10.
 

balkis ben hassineGuest November 1, 2020 at 12:11 pm

hi teacher how i can learn how to write in chinees

RommariPremium Student November 17, 2018 at 3:47 pm

Hi Lili and fellow students. Do you have any suggestions for writing the characters? I’m having some difficulty in this area. Thanks in advance for your tips.

Have you checked out our Chinese Characters Writing Course? It starts from each single strokes, and then small character components and then discusses character structure and the ways how Chinese characters are created. It is highly recommended to go along with this course.

ni hao Lili Hao ni hao ma? wo shi manuel rivera laoshi ni duo da? nin, wo san shi yi sui

SierraPremium Student July 11, 2018 at 6:14 am

你好。我姓Higgins。Is it okay to also say 我的名字是sierra。

RosemariePremium Student July 9, 2018 at 11:01 am

你好 Lili !
I’m French and joined your course a few days ago. I do enjoy your lessons. I’m a beginner and I’m discovering the Chinese language with great pleasure. What attracts me more is how writing the characters despite their difficulty.
谢谢你 Lili 。
Rosemarie.

你好Rosemarie, 不客气!
I’m really happy for you! Glad you enjoy learning Chinese! 加油!

Shwe Yi AungStudent March 31, 2018 at 11:30 pm

Hi, teacher Li, I really like your chinese course and the way your teaching. Thanks alot..

Wo xing Buskas
Wo jiao Tanya
Hi Lili! I really like your course, and the way how you teaching. My first language is Russian, and English is my second language. I started to learn Chinese first time and I was very surprised how simple all the rules and grammar as compare Russian, English , French and other European languages. I found writing characters and listening and talking is difficult , but now I am enjoying to learn Chinese. I surprise that I can read some characters, and say some words and even sentences in Chinese.

thanks
great very useful and helpful

kimsansrel2015Premium Student December 10, 2017 at 6:48 am

This lesson is really helpful and it keeps me interacting a lot.

It’s good to know that you’re doing the practice along with the video and that you find this lesson was helpful for doing self-introduction in Chinese!

am new can you please help me.

david_leadbetterStudent December 10, 2017 at 2:47 am

I am happy that your course seems so clear as I have to translate American English to English English as well as learning Chinese. But seriously I thank you.

Hi David I’m so glad that you find our lesson on self-introduction in Chinese helpful! Wish you the best of luck learning Chinese!

Harris Bin AbidGuest April 24, 2018 at 10:52 am

I love the way you teach. I can understand easily what is your point of view. I am also basic Chinese student in Pakistan. Hope you will be very helpful for me to learn also. Xie xie ziajian

Great I really like it , it’s simple and clear .
thanks a lot

Alain 艾伦Premium Student November 4, 2017 at 10:18 am

你好郝力, 我叫艾伦 Alain, 我是加拿大人,我五十六岁,
I really like your course and the way you present the materials, very logical, I Love it!
Also presently taking Manderin level 1 at the University.
我真喜欢,谢谢你

谢谢你艾伦!很高兴你喜欢我们的课。
That’s awesome that you are taking Chinese classes at a university and that was a great self-introduction in Chinese. Wishing you the best of luck learning Chinese!

fiona.lou.mcgrath71Premium Student October 25, 2017 at 5:13 am

enjoyable

kowpunzcheezecakeGuest October 3, 2017 at 4:55 pm

You can teach easily to get chinese langauge 谢谢。

Maria Leonora AlonzoStudent May 11, 2017 at 3:42 am

it is so easy to understand. i never had this amazing lessons before that’s why i’m glad to have this. xiexie Lili. thanks a lot

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